"Top Gun: Maverick" Still Flies High in Sophomore Weekend

[JamesG]

Top Gun: Maverick Soars over Memorial Day Weekend with $124 Million Three-Day Haul becoming Tom Cruise's Best Opening Ever
by Chris Nashawaty - Box Office News
May 29, 2022


After 36 years, Tom Cruise’s daredevil Navy flyboy Pete Mitchell apparently still felt the need…the need for speed. And so, too, did nostalgic moviegoers who flooded the nation’s multiplexes over Memorial Day weekend to propel the star’s long-delayed sequel, Top Gun: Maverick, into the box-office stratosphere with a $124 million domestic haul between Friday and Sunday.

When Monday’s receipts are factored in, look for that total to climb to $151 million—making the Paramount sequel the strongest debut of Cruise’s storied career by far. Meanwhile, 20th Century Studios’ The Bob’s Burgers Movie bowed over the holiday frame in third place with $12.6 million.







Originally slated to open in the summer of 2020, Top Gun: Maverick was always a big bet for the studio. Not just because of its sky-high $170 million price tag, but also because it was gambling on an aging audience’s memories of a film that hit theaters way back in 1986 (when the original made $8.2 million in its opening frame, on the way to a final domestic tally of $180.3 million).

But as Maverick proved, box-office analysts should never underestimate the strong pull of nostalgia—a key contributor to the fact that a whopping 55% of the film’s ticketbuyers were aged 40 and over. With a $26,187 per-screen average in 4,735 theaters, Maverick’s $124 opening represented the fourth highest domestic debut of 2022 (bested only by a trio of superhero movies: Spider-Man: No Way Home’s $260 million, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ $187 million, and The Batman’s $134 million).




Meanwhile, Top Gun 2’s projected $151 million gross over the four-day long weekend places it just shy of the all-time Memorial Day weekend box-office record, behind only The Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End's $153 million back in 2017.

No matter how you parse it, Maverick is a triumph for Paramount, which now has its fifth title to open in first place this year. It’s also a valedictory lap for Cruise, who can now be called one of Hollywood’s last remaining A-list stars thanks to the success of the Mission: Impossible franchise and now Maverick.




A hit with both critics (who gave it a 97% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes) and moviegoers (who handed it a rare ‘A+’ CinemaScore grade), the title also soared overseas, where it took in $109.6 million (without the help of Russia and China, where it has not opened), bringing its first-week global tally to $260.6 million.







In second place was Disney’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which had to settle for the runner-up spot after its three-week reign as the top-grossing movie in North America.

The latest Marvel installment took in $16.4 between Friday and Sunday and $21.1 when Monday is factored in—a dip of -49.2% from the previous session.



The Benedict Cumberbatch tentpole scored a $4,310 per-screen average at 3,805 locations, putting its four-week domestic box-office total to $375.5 million.

The PG-13-rated blockbuster has fared even better overseas, where it has racked up $497.9 million in ticket sales. The film’s current worldwide total now stands at $873.4 million.







In third place was the holiday weekend’s only other newcomer of note, 20th Century Studios’ The Bob’s Burger Movie, which gobbled up $12.6 million between Friday and Sunday and $15 million after Monday is taken into account.

The PG-rated spin-off feature from the long-running animated TV show had a $3,678 per-screen average in 3,425 theaters. The movie, which has earned an 86% fresh rating from reviewers, has barely opened overseas yet, earning a negligible $7,000 over its debut weekend.







In fourth was Focus Features’ Downton Abbey: A New Era with $5.9 million between Friday and Sunday and $7.5 million when Monday’s receipts are included.

The PG-rated extension of the beloved upstairs-downstairs British TV series slipped a hefty -63.1% from the previous frame, scoring a $1,540 per-screen average at 3,830 locations.

Its current North American take now stands at $30.1 million. Overseas, A New Era has taken in $40.5 million in its first two weeks, bringing its worldwide cume to $70.6 million.







Rounding out the top five was Universal’s The Bad Guys with $4.6 million between Friday and Sunday and just under $6.2 million when Monday’s business is included.

In its sixth weekend, the PG-rated animated comedy about a gang of animal thieves who struggle to become model citizens decreased -24.6% from the previous session, managing a $1,572 per-screen average in 2,944 theaters.

It has now pulled in a combined $82.9 million domestically and another $116.2 from overseas, bringing it global box-office cume to $199.1 million.

https://www.boxofficemojo.com/articl...?ref_=bo_hm_hp







May 27-29, 2022: Weekend Studio Estimates

1. Top Gun: Maverick $126,700,000
2. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness $15,855,000 / $370,228,979
3. The Bob's Burgers Movie $12,435,000
4. Downton Abbey: A New Era $5,750,000 / $28,328,945
5. The Bad Guys $4,340,000 / $81,082,900
6. Everything Everywhere All at Once $2,510,345 / $56,823,987
7. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 $2,435,000 / $185,054,326
8. The Lost City $1,835,000 / $101,772,000
9. Men $1,224,692 / $5,967,784
10. F3: Fun and Frustration $1,028,000

[JamesG]

Top Gun: Maverick Still Flying in Sophomore Weekend with $86 Million while Jurassic World Dominion Roars Overseas
by Chris Nashawaty - Box Office News
June 5, 2022


Another week, another box-office lesson. While the Memorial Day session reminded us that there are still such things as old-school Hollywood movie stars — the kind whose name on a marquee can single-handedly open a movie — thanks to the blockbuster debut of Tom Cruise’s Top Gun: Maverick, this week we were given a refresher course in the power of positive word of mouth.

Cruise’s buzzy sequel just kept soaring at the multiplex with a negligible drop off, taking in another $86 million at North American theaters. It’s especially newsworthy since the smash-hit sequel is one of the few recent out-of-the-gate moneymakers without no connection to either superheroes or comic-book I.P.

Meanwhile, another eagerly awaited tentpole follow-up, Jurassic World Dominion, was met by dino-sized returns in its early overseas roll out.







Thanks to its extremely fresh 97% rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes and its rare ‘A+’ CinemaScore grade, Top Gun 2 witnessed a mere -32.1% dip in business in its second frame.

That’s a particularly impressive accomplishment considering that even the most successful Marvel blockbusters tend to drop off in the neighborhood of -50% or more in their sophomore weekends. But at age 59, Cruise seems to keep flying higher and higher, especially in the right vehicle.




Originally slated to open in the summer of 2020, Maverick earned a boffo $18,101 per-screen average in 4,571 theaters, putting its two-week domestic haul at $291.6 million. That tally pushes the film past 2005’s War of the Worlds as the biggest domestic moneymaker of Cruise’s long, hit-strewn career.

Maverick is performing nearly as well abroad, where it has taken in $257 million to date (and that’s without the help of Russia and China, where it has not opened). The movie’s worldwide gross after two weeks zipped past the $500 million milestone over the weekend, too, finishing the frame with $548.6 million and counting.

Somewhere the producers of the next Mission: Impossible chapter are very happy indeed.







In the second place once again was Disney’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which took in just shy of $9.3 million. The latest Marvel installment fell -42.4% from the previous weekend.

The Benedict Cumberbatch-led superhero epic scored a $3,765 per-screen average at 2,457 locations, putting its five-week domestic box-office total at $388.7 million. The PG-13-rated title has fared even better overseas, where it has racked up $520.7 million in ticket sales.

Its current worldwide total now sits at $909.4 million.







In third was 20th Century Studios’ The Bob’s Burger Movie with $4.5 million. The PG-13-rated spin-off feature from the long-running animated TV show declined -63.8% in its second weekend, posting a $1,313 per-screen average in 3,425 theaters. Its two-week domestic haul now stands at $22.2 million.

The film, which earned a solid 86% fresh rating from reviewers, has yet to make much of a dent overseas, earning a scant $1.7 million so far. Its combined worldwide gross is $23.9 million.







In fourth place was Universal’s The Bad Guys with $3.3 million. In its seventh weekend, the PG-rated animated comedy about a gang of animal thieves who struggle to become model citizens fell -23.8% from the prior session, managing a $1,162 per-screen average in 2,872 theaters.

The movie has now pulled in $87.3 million domestically with another $131 million coming from overseas, bringing it global box-office cume to $218.3 million.







Rounding out the top five was Focus Features’ Downton Abbey: A New Era with $3 million. The PG-rated spin-off from the beloved upstairs-downstairs British TV series shed -48.2% from the previous frame, scoring an $864 per-screen average at 3,471 locations.

The Crawley clan’s current North American take is now $35.7 million. Internationally, the film has accumulated $41 million in its first three weeks, bringing its worldwide cume to $76.7 million.







Outside of the top five, the most-watched specialty debut was director David Cronenberg’s latest body-horror freak-out, Crimes of the Future, which bowed in tenth place with a so-so $1.1 million.

Neon’s divisive R-rated chiller nabbed a $1,423 per-screen average in 773 theaters. Overseas, the film has scared up just $318,637, putting its first-week global take at roughly $1.4 million.







Entering the charts one notch below was IFC’s foreign-set thriller Watcher, which made $815,000 at 764 locations, translating to a $1,066 per-screen average.

The R-rated title about an actress (It Follows’ Maika Monroe) who is being stalked by a serial killer in Bucharest is one of the best-reviewed genre films of 2022 with an 85% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. And while Watcher’s $815,000 may sound like small potatoes compared to Maverick money, it marks the biggest opening ever for IFC’s horror label, IFC Midnight.







Still, the biggest non-Maverick news of the weekend was the early arrival of Jurassic World Dominion in 15 overseas markets.

The sixth chapter in the dinos-run-amok franchise, which kicked off with 1993’s Jurassic Park, bowed to $55.4 million, with the biggest hauls coming from Mexico ($18 million) and Korea ($15 million). The sure-to-be-massive Dominion storms into multiplexes stateside on June 10.

https://www.boxofficemojo.com/articl...?ref_=bo_hm_hp







June 3-5, 2022: Weekend Studio Estimates

1. Top Gun: Maverick $90,037,011 / $295,641,022
2. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness $9,173,176 / $388,633,292
3. The Bob's Burgers Movie $4,638,080 / $22,378,229
4. The Bad Guys $3,341,700 / $87,293,025
5. Downton Abbey: A New Era $3,196,020 / $35,898,310
6. Everything Everywhere All at Once $2,020,892 / $60,561,935
7. Vikram $1,770,000
8. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 $1,706,434 / $188,250,557
9. The Lost City $1,367,002 / $103,999,201
10. Crimes of the Future $1,117,962